Maruti Suzuki's net profit lowest in almost seven years

Maruti Suzuki has reported a sharp 63.6 percent fall in its net profit to Rs 205 crore for the December quarter, its lowest since September 2004. This fall was in line with what most analysts expected. According to a CNBC TV-18 poll, its net profit was expected to fall to Rs 200 crore.

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The car manufacturer’s topline performance has also fallen by 17.4 percent to Rs 7,636 crore. The company sold 211,803 units in the domestic markets as compared to 299,527 units in the year ago period. Exports too fell to 27,725 units against 31,160 units year-on-year. “Unit sales in the quarter were impacted by sluggish market conditions caused by higher fuel prices and interest rates”, the company said in its press release.

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It said it lost around 40,000 units in production due to problems faced by the company at Manesar.

The company’s interest cost also shot up to Rs17.35 crore against Rs 0.36 crore in the year-ago period.

In contrast to its poor results, the stock has shot up 5 percent to an intra day high ofRs 1,163 per share post its earnings announcement.

While the company acknowledged that the current year has been a tough one for the auto sector in its con-call, it does expect things to improve in the March quarter.

To read the press release, click here .